


Breaking New Ground (rules)

by clottedcreamfudge



Series: Amicus Curiae [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Office, Angst, BACK ON MY BULLSHIT, Banter, Basically there's a lot of sex, Couch Sex, Desk Sex, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, FBI Agent Alec Lightwood, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I meant to make Lydia a main character then I forgot I am SO SORRY, I'm so proud of this, Jace is a himbo, Law Enforcement, Lawyer Magnus Bane, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Phone Sex, Praise Kink, Sarcasm, Sexting, Smut, Texting, Who asked for Latin legalese poetry?, but you're getting it anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:21:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29473881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clottedcreamfudge/pseuds/clottedcreamfudge
Summary: They have some ground rules.1. Take things slow, keep things quiet2. Be professional at all times3. Go easy on flirtatious texts/emails4. Don’t let disagreements affect your work5. No sex in the workplaceThey're getting through them at quite an alarming rate.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Amicus Curiae [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164887
Comments: 155
Kudos: 277





	1. Take things slow, keep things quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ‘working closely together’ thing has proved a bit of a stumbling block.

Magnus likes his new job. He’s taken a significant pay cut, his office is half the size it once was (with no private bathroom), and he’s been forced to upgrade his laptop to a desktop computer; there are two screens, and he’s horribly intimidated by them. His soul, however, feels lighter than it has in a long time. He’s only working on a few cases at the moment - small things, so he can get a feel for the way Lucian likes his people to work - but it’s enough to keep him busy.

Of course, the coffee here is awful, but the café on the corner is absolutely divine. Magnus is considering buying shares.

He and Alec have been dating for a few months now - for a given value of dating, given their kind of ridiculous work schedules - and it’s pretty much the best Magnus has ever felt in a relationship. There’s a Venn diagram in Magnus’s head of the things he wants and needs from a partner, and in the middle of all those overlapping circles is Alexander’s name in flashing lights. Confetti might be involved too.

However, the ‘working closely together’ thing has proved a bit of a stumbling block. It wouldn’t really have mattered if something had happened between them while Magnus was at Edom & Associates (which it _did_ , in point of fact), because Alec was only working there in order to get information; he was never really an employee in the traditional sense of the word. Now that Magnus works for the DA’s office, Alec’s been a little more wary about what his responsibilities are, and how they can safely navigate the potential issue of the two of them quite literally being in bed together. Magnus knows that, legally, there’s no problem at all with their being in a relationship, but he understands Alec’s reservations.

So. They have some ground rules.

The first is that they’re taking things slow, and generally keeping this thing of theirs _quiet_. Izzy and Jace know about them - how could they not, after everything that’s happened - and it’s quite clear that Lucian is aware that something might be going on as well. They’re not trying to hide their relationship, but Alec would rather they don’t flaunt it, which Magnus can understand.

However, they’re not doing particularly great with rule number one, Magnus thinks as paperwork dramatically flies off his desk under his scrabbling hands. They are in fact doing a remarkable job of blowing this one out of the water entirely, because Magnus has had to tell two separate people he’s busy and will “be out in a minute” when they’ve knocked, even though all he’s really busy doing is having Alec’s mouth firmly attached to his neck.

Which is, he’ll admit, a pretty big priority to him these days. His other priority is having concealer on him at all times. The two things are very much related.

“Agent Lightwood, are you getting off on breaking the rules?” Magnus says with a breathy little gasp as Alec’s mouth moves up his neck, teeth teasing at his earlobe as Alec’s hands find their way under Magnus’s untucked shirt.

“You’re wearing those pants on purpose,” Alec mutters in response, before kissing Magnus hard on the mouth like he’s angry about it. Which he has every right to be, really, since Magnus absolutely _did_ do that on purpose, yes; he literally only wore these specific pants because he knows his ass looks amazing in them, and he’d been fully aware that Alec would be coming to the DA’s office today. Right now he doesn’t regret it one bit.

“You should probably take them off me,” Magnus suggests when Alec pulls away again, breathing hard.

“No,” Alec says vehemently, though it kind of seems like he’s trying to convince himself, “that would be a terrible idea.”

“I’ve certainly had worse ones.” He really has. Remember that time he thought he could just defend a mob boss? Definitely one of his worst ideas to date.

“Stop that,” Alec says reproachfully, and Magnus looks down at where his own hands have apparently been playing absentmindedly with the hem of Alec’s shirt, rucking it up slightly; he can just see the tattoo on Alec’s hip, which is probably one of his top 5 favourite things to put his mouth on. Magnus sighs dramatically and pulls away, leaning back a little and propping himself up on his hands, legs slightly splayed where they’re dangling off the edge of the desk. Alec closes his eyes like he doesn’t want to have to look at Magnus doing that, and Magnus feels something flare hotly in his stomach at the reminder that Alec’s iron-clad control turns to smoke around him.

If Magnus had ever had any control in the first place, he’s sure the feeling would be mutual.

“I’ve stopped,” he points out helpfully, and Alec opens his eyes to give him _a look._

“And yet,” Alec says drily, moving forward like he can’t help himself and sliding his hands up Magnus’s thighs.

“And yet,” Magnus agrees - which is, of course, when Jace decides to barge into Magnus’s office without knocking.

“Hey Magnus, have you seen-” Jace stops mid-sentence when he realises, presumably, that Magnus has indeed seen Alec. It would be hard for him not to have seen Alec, really, given the proximity of said person’s hands to his dick; he’d have to be asleep, quite probably, which would also raise some ethical questions.

“That’s an interesting knock you have there,” Magnus says cheerfully, painfully aware that he’s at least half hard in his pants and Alec’s hands on him are pretty much the only thing obscuring that from Jace’s view. “Almost silent, one might say. Was it a stealth knock? I didn’t know they taught that at FBI school.” He knows it’s not called ‘FBI school’ but it always makes Alec so mad, he can’t help saying it anyway.

Jace has moved on from shock to abject delight at having caught his brother in a compromising position; Magnus presumes this joy stems from the fact that the shoe has largely been on the other foot in the past. Alec has told him far too many stories, face going haunted, for Magnus to think it’s anything less than a horribly common occurrence to find Jace completely naked and engaged in something degenerate at any given time.

“Sorry,” Jace says with a shrug, the grin on his face suggesting he has never been less sorry in his life. “I can see you’ve got your hands full there, Alec, but we’re meeting in the boardroom in five minutes.”

“Do you not have a boardroom of your own?” Magnus wonders aloud, sliding out from underneath Alec’s prone hands and landing lightly on his feet. “I can’t imagine ours is any nicer - there isn’t even a decent coffee machine.”

“I wondered that too,” Jace says, grin only widening, “but we need a couple of your people on this case, and _Alec_ suggested it as a base of operations.” Magnus wishes he wasn’t horribly touched by that, but he really fucking is. The look of horror on Alec’s face tells him this is not only absolutely true, but also that he was literally _never_ planning on telling Magnus this fact. Ever.

“You found me - you can leave now,” Alec says after a moment’s pause, setting his jaw and folding his arms. His shirt is untucked and his hair is a complete mess where Magnus has been running his fingers through it, so he looks not so much threatening as he does incredibly sexy and available. To Magnus. Hopefully Jace doesn’t think any of those adjectives about his adoptive brother.

“Yeah, I guess I _did_ find you,” Jace says with a considering look. “I should probably tell Izzy.” Then he puts his hand in his pocket and whips out his phone.

“Jace, I swear to God, if you-”

“Too late,” Jace says, thumbs flying furiously across the touch screen with a look of unadulterated glee on his face. Alec grabs a stapler off Magnus’s desk and, in an incredibly coordinated move that actually really _does something_ to Magnus, throws it at just the right angle to collide solidly with Jace’s left wrist. He drops the phone automatically with a startled hiss, and seconds later Alec is kicking his legs out from under him and-

Well. Let’s just say if Magnus was even slightly attracted to Jace, this would probably be at least 80% hotter. As it is, Alec getting Jace in a headlock and having him tap out is still kind of distractingly sexy, and Magnus thinks it’s probably time to break this up just so he doesn’t embarrass himself.

“Alright, I think that’s probably adequate,” he says with a sigh, tucking his shirt in and raising his eyebrows pointedly at Alec when he makes eye contact. “Not that I wouldn’t usually pay good money to see something like this, before almost immediately deleting my browser history.”

“I _knew_ you thought I was attractive,” Jace says from where he’s pinned beneath Alec. “I mean, it shouldn’t really have been in question - you do have _eyes_.”

“Dream on, Wayland,” Magnus says coolly, sliding his jacket on as Alec frees Jace and gets to his feet, Jace scrambling for his phone the second he’s no longer in a headlock. Alec pulls Jace up after him and punches him in the arm with an unnecessary amount of force; Jace sways with it but otherwise doesn’t react, still smirking.

“You do not tell _anyone_ about this,” Alec says firmly. “Are we clear?” Jace stares at him for a moment, unblinking, then his eyes dart towards the door.

“I think the fuck not,” he says calmly, before darting out into the corridor and disappearing a split-second later. Alec looks shaken and incredibly pissed off, which is just another in a long list of good looks on him. Magnus is waiting for him not to look delectable, but he sincerely doubts the moment will ever come.

“If it helps, darling,” Magnus says as he adjusts his pocket square, “I’m fairly certain the entire continental US is aware of our relationship by this point.”

“It does _not_ help,” Alec says with a groan, running a hand over his face before shooting Magnus an apologetic look. “Sorry, I just - I like to keep my work life separate from everything else.” Magnus smiles and passes Alec his jacket.

“I know, darling,” he says consolingly. “That’s why we have all these rules. Which we are, admittedly, not sticking to as well as we should be.”

“As long as you never wear those pants in public again I think we’ll be fine,” Alec says through gritted teeth, rolling his shoulders before sliding the jacket on over his shirt, which he belatedly remembers to tuck back in. Magnus says a sorrowful goodbye to his glimpse of Alec’s tattoo.

“I regret to inform you that your reaction to said pants makes it absolutely impossible for me to retire them.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

❧❧❧

Magnus feels significantly more sober once they’ve entered the boardroom - separately, at Alec’s request, though Magnus privately thinks that ship might have already sailed. The tone in the room when he arrives a few minutes after Alec is sombre, to say the least, and Jace has already lost the joviality of a few moments ago, mouth set in a grim line. There are only a handful of people in the room; Jace, Alec, and Izzy are there, presumably representing their organisation, and Lucian Graymark presides over it all with an odd rigidity to his posture.

Magnus is surprised to see Jocelyn Fairchild in attendance as well; she’s the head of HR, and while she’s a formidable and very well-organised woman, he’s not sure why she’s here. Perhaps Magnus is about to get fired for what just happened in his office? It would be worth it, probably.

“Thank you for coming, everyone,” Lucian begins once Magnus has taken a seat, looking around at them all with his usual presence and gravitas. “We’re going to be working together on a highly sensitive, time-critical missing persons case. This comes primarily under the FBI’s jurisdiction, but I’ve asked to be part of the case and Jocelyn here has too.” The plot thickens.

“Forgive me, Lucian, but what makes this an FBI case at all and not a matter for local law enforcement?” Magnus asks, keeping his tone as light as possible. “And if, as I’m beginning to suspect, there’s no immediate need for prosecution, why am I required?” Lucian nods as though that’s exactly what he’d expected Magnus to say.

“You’re here for two reasons,” he says gravely. “Firstly, we suspect the involvement of Valentine Morgenstern, and given that your old firm was the one who defended him a few years ago, I’ve no doubt you’ll have some valuable insight.”

 _Valentine Morgenstern_ , Magnus thinks as a lead weight settles inside his stomach; glancing around the room, he can see similar reactions on everyone else’s faces at the mention of Valentine. The plot thickens indeed. 

“I’ll certainly do what I can there,” he agrees quietly, already planning to call Ragnor and arrange a meeting once this is over. Ragnor had helped Asmodeus on the case, if memory serves, and will no doubt be more willing to hash out the details with him that his father would - especially if Magnus buys him lunch at _Basilico_. Lucian nods his thanks.

“Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, you will bring some much needed impartiality to the table,” he says, glancing at Jocelyn. “The missing woman is Clary Fairchild - Jocelyn’s daughter, and Jace’s girlfriend.”

The plot has now thickened to the point where Magnus could likely _walk_ on it. Jocelyn nods at Lucian and takes over, looking grimly determined. Jace’s expression hasn’t changed at all - but then, he probably knows most of this already.

“Two days ago, Clary and I had an argument about her new boyfriend - I wasn’t a fan,” she says drily, catching Jace’s eye. To his credit, he simply shrugs; he’s no doubt fully aware of his reputation. Alec shifts a little next to Magnus, probably thinking the same thing and finding himself torn between defending his brother and agreeing with Jocelyn. “She stormed out - said she was going to Jace’s and she’d call me when she wasn’t pissed at me anymore. I tried her yesterday because I was worried about her, but when I realised her phone was off I knew something was wrong - I don’t think Clary even knows her phone _has_ an off switch.” Magnus catches the look of wry fondness on Jocelyn’s face, and is surprised to see it mirrored very briefly on Lucian’s. “I managed to get through to Jace and it turned out Clary had never arrived there, and because he wasn’t expecting her, neither of us knew she’d disappeared.”

“As the apparent voice of impartiality,” Magnus says slowly once Jocelyn’s finished her explanation, “I suppose the next question is what this has to do with Valentine.” Jocelyn leans back in her chair, crossing her arms like it’s a defence mechanism, and Lucian takes up the thread.

“Valentine Morgenstern apparently died in prison a week ago, and the reports don’t add up,” he says with a sigh. “We believe he’s managed to get out.” Magnus swallows. He’s sure there must be worse people in the world than Valentine, but right now he’s struggling to think of one who makes him quite this concerned for the welfare of his city.

“And, more importantly,” Jocelyn adds with a grimace, “Valentine is Clary’s biological father.”

❧❧❧

Ragnor whistles and leans back in his chair, ignoring his earl grey in favour of levelling Magnus with a look of delighted surprise.

“You could look slightly less overjoyed that a dangerous criminal is on the loose and kidnapping his family members,” Magnus says drily, taking a sip of his mimosa and wondering if it would be terribly lush of him to order a second. The morning has, after all, been somewhat of a trial.

“Oh, I know all there is to know about the odious man, unfortunately,” Ragnor says with a careless wave of his hand, “so believe me when I say I know precisely what he’s capable of. I just can’t help but marvel at Jocelyn having kept this from Clary her whole life. I have to say I’m impressed with her tenacity, if nothing else.”

Ragnor had been more than open to an immediate and urgent lunch meeting, as Magnus had assumed he would be; it had taken only the promise of a good story and fine food on someone else’s dime to convince him. _Basilico_ serves not only their favourite arancini, but also the only cup of earl grey that Ragnor considers worth drinking in the entire city. 

“Then I’m sure you can honour that tenacity by telling me what you remember of his known associates and hideouts,” Magnus says firmly, finishing his mimosa and deciding that he _will_ order another one, in fact. He waves over a server, ordering a mimosa and - at Ragnor’s behest - another pot of tea in rapid-fire Italian, and a moment later they’re alone again. 

“I can do you one better than my faded memory, old friend,” Ragnor says with a small smile, eyes glittering as he slides a USB drive across the table. Magnus stares at it for a moment before his brain catches up with his eyes, at which point his gaze slides wonderingly back to his smug-looking friend.

“If Asmodeus finds out about this-”

“He won’t,” Ragnor says calmly, and Magnus is about to ask _how_ and _why_ , among other questions, when their server appears at their table with their drinks. Turning in his seat to pluck Magnus’s fresh mimosa and his own pot of tea from the tray, Ragnor sees the man off with a _“grazie,”_ and hands Magnus’s drink to him with a smile. “Your father may be a wily, grasping bastard, but so am I - and I’ve been doing it almost as long.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Magnus says after a brief pause, picking up the thumb drive and looking at it incredulously. He really _doesn’t_ , is the thing. He and Ragnor have been friends for longer than he can remember, and while he’s worlds away from being Asmodeus, he’s never been quite the bleeding heart Magnus is. This is above and beyond.

“You needn’t say anything,” Ragnor says softly, looking very weathered all of a sudden where he sits. Magnus has always known there’s a significant age difference between them, but this is the first time he’s ever really thought of Ragnor as _older_. “Use that information wisely, save the day, and try not to get me in trouble while you do it.”

Magnus supposes he’ll have to try his best.

❧❧❧

**[To: Alexander] [14:52]**

_I was sorry not to see you when I dropped by the office this afternoon - Lucian said you were following up on lead?_

**[From: Alexander] [15:03]**

_Dead end unfortunately, but yeah. Luke told us about the files you gave him - I’m not sure whether to be impressed or worried for you._

**[To: Alexander] [15:05]**

_Trust me when I say it’s not my reputation on the line - my contacts came through for me, what can I say! I only hope the information helps us find the Fairchild girl before anything dire happens to her._

**[15:08]**

_I suppose it’s too much to ask that you make yourself available for dinner tonight?_

**[From: Alexander] [15:14]**

_Sorry, Magnus - I really can’t right now. Jace is kind of a mess. Rain check?_

**[To: Alexander] [15:16]**

_Of course, darling - go do your job as an exceedingly attractive FBI agent and concerned older brother. I’m sure we’ll see each other at the office tomorrow. Jocelyn has me on some additional remote training courses this afternoon though, so I’ll be at home if you need me. Just say the word._

**[From: Alexander] [15:20]**

_Thanks, Magnus. I’ll see you tomorrow._

Magnus sighs and puts his phone down on the desk, turning back to his laptop and opening up his emails. Jocelyn had promised him all he’d have to do would be to click on the link she’d sent him, and he’d be able to access the pre-recorded training video on ‘Workplace Conduct’. She had said this very pointedly, and Magnus hadn’t been embarrassed, per se, but he had felt rather _seen;_ it had either been a comment on his _own_ workplace conduct, or a slight against his IT skills. Frankly, either one would have been quite fair.

The training is tedious, however necessary it might be, and once the two hour video is over, Magnus is ready for a takeaway and some truly mind-numbing television. He orders far too much Thai food for one person, sends off a few emails while he has his laptop fired up, then sinks into the sofa with a glass of wine and an incredibly trashy reality TV show to wait for his food.

He might be moping, just slightly. It’s possible Magnus misses his boyfriend more than is reasonable.

His phone goes off when he’s halfway through a truly mammoth portion of sticky rice and pork belly, and when he sees that it’s a text from Alec, he finds himself smiling immediately. Fortunately, there’s nobody around to see the ridiculous look on his face; he has no doubt he looks disgustingly in love.

**[From: Alexander] [18:34]**

_Jace’s apartment looks like a bomb hit it. Cannot believe he lives like this. It’s possible Clary’s just lost in his laundry basket or something._

**[To: Alexander] [18:35]**

_The lesser of two evils, perhaps? Although there is a happy medium between Jace’s biological warfare and your military approach to tidiness, darling._

**[From: Alexander] [18:37]**

_It’s just as easy to fold a shirt and put it on a chair as it is to throw it on the floor. You’re only making more work for yourself in the long-run._

**[To: Alexander] [18:40]**

_Thank goodness you don’t have this approach to undressing for sex - although I suppose it would heighten the anticipation if I had to wait half an hour for you to fold everything._

**[From: Alexander] [18:42]**

_How does it always take you so few texts to get onto the topic of sex?_

**[To: Alexander] [18:43]**

_You bring it out in me. Speaking of, the evening’s loneliness would be marginally easier to bear if I had a few pictures of you shirtless. The fact that I don’t have a whole album dedicated to your abs already is frankly a hideous oversight._

**[From: Alexander] [18:48]**

_I’m not sending you lewd pictures, Magnus._

**[To: Alexander] [18:50]**

_I was afraid you’d say that - but no matter! I have an incredibly good imagination._

**[From: Alexander] [18:51]**

_Stop it._

**[To: Alexander] [18:51]**

_Stop what? Imagining you naked or telling you I’m imagining you naked?_

**[From: Alexander] [18:53]**

_Both._

**[To: Alexander] [18:36]**

_I can do precisely one of those things. Now go and tidy your brother’s apartment like I know you want to, darling. I’ll speak to you tomorrow._

**[From: Alexander] [18:38]**

_I’ve been doing it this whole time - shows what you know._

Magnus huffs out a laugh, feeling lighter than he has all evening, and goes back to his rice. A few moments later, his phone chimes again, and he can’t help the delighted grin that spreads across his face when he realises it’s a photo message from Alec.

**[From: Alexander] [18:40] [+IMG2034]**

_I’m not going to make a habit of this._

The photo is poorly lit, but frankly Alec’s body doesn’t really need the help. He’s obviously changed out of his suit and into something a little more comfortable for stress-tidying Jace’s apartment, dark jeans sitting low on his hips and showing off the dual temptations of his hip bones and that delicious tattoo. He’s shirtless as requested, and while Magnus can’t see much of Alec’s face, his mouth is just visible at the top of the photograph; he’s biting his bottom lip slightly in concentration, and for some reason that’s what gets Magnus a little hot.

Magnus sometimes isn’t sure how Alec can possibly be real.

**[To Alexander] [18:41]**

_I want to frame it. You have absolutely no idea just how beautiful you are, do you?_

**[From: Alexander] [18:43]**

_You’re biased. Jace is banging on the bathroom door asking me some really gross questions, so I have to go now._

**[18:43]**

_Have a good night, Magnus._

**[To: Alexander] [18:44]**

_Well now I certainly will._

❧❧❧

  1. ~~Take things slow, keep things quiet~~




	2. Be professional at all times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec isn't into all the nicknames, except that he's into most of them, actually.

After a week of dead ends, everyone’s frustrated and close to a breakdown. Alec and Magnus have barely been able to see each other outside of the DA’s office, and Magnus is far gone enough to admit that it’s been pretty soul-destroying not being able to fall asleep at least once with Alec lying next to him.

On the seventh day of working round the clock, they get a breakthrough. One of Magnus’s downworld contacts, affectionately known in various circles as Crim Jim, saw a girl matching Clary’s description being bundled into a car with tinted windows down by the docks just the night before. It could be nothing, but it could be something, and Alec has a forensics team on standby as he and his siblings head out to check out the lead.

(The forensics team is a necessary evil, apparently; they’re all kind of rude, especially to Alec’s team, because Izzy left them to do field work. Alec says they’re jealous because she’s still better than they are. Magnus doesn’t doubt it.)

Magnus is left at somewhat of a loose end, his super sexy FBI boyfriend and his team of daring adventurers having left the moment a plan of action had been put together. Lucian has his own leads to follow up on, his own cases, and Magnus’s own cases are mostly just waiting on court dates to be confirmed. He has very little to do, in reality.

So he decides to go and see Jocelyn.

The HR department is a strange mix of people - Magnus met them all on his first day and, while he wasn’t quite overwhelmed, some of his interactions left him at least mildly perplexed. Underhill, Aline and Maia make perfect sense to him; Underhill looks like he’d listen to you cry about your ex for hours without complaining, and both Aline and Maia have the same violently protective energy as Jocelyn.

Simon, on the other hand, is a complete mystery. He’s great at talking to people, sure, but he also doesn’t know how to stop, and for all that he’s passably attractive, he’s also a top-tier nerd who attempts to engage people on the ethical ambiguities of Sith vs. Jedi after twenty second of acquaintanceship. The most baffling thing about him is that Izzy has been eyeing him up for the past week, and Simon looks intrigued but also like he _knows_ Izzy could eat him alive. Magnus isn’t sure how that pairing is meant to work, precisely, but he wishes them both the best of luck.

“Magnus, what are you doing here? Has something happened with the case?” Jocelyn doesn’t stand up from her chair, but it looks as though she’s mere seconds from doing so. Magnus throws his hands up in a gesture of placation and apology.

“Nothing that I’ve heard yet, but hopefully the team will be back with more news shortly,” he says, and the set of her shoulder relaxes minutely where she sits.

“Then I assume this is an HR matter? Please tell me it doesn’t have anything to do with the new intern-”

“I’m really not sure where this reputation has come from,” Magnus interrupts her, wrinkling his nose, “but I would rather not have my father’s behaviour conflated with mine, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Sorry, Magnus,” she says with a sigh, glancing over at where Simon appears to be challenging Maia to an arm wrestling match. Maia is going to _destroy_ him. “Tensions are running high at the moment, as I’m sure you understand. And running this department is very much like having several additional children.”

“I have no doubt,” he concedes, staring at where Simon is having his ass handed to him by an incredibly bored-looking Maia. Aline is staring at Maia’s biceps with interest.

“So, what can Human Resources do for you?” she asks, indicating that he should take a seat. Magnus does so, then wonders if he can stand again without looking rude; he’s only marginally more comfortable sitting here than he had been when tied to a chair and punched in the stomach by a mob goon.

“I have a few questions regarding professionalism in the workplace.” Jocelyn raises her eyebrows at him - not seemingly in any kind of judgment, but perhaps somewhat surprised to hear those words coming from his mouth. “Yes, well, try not to look too shocked,” he continues with an eye roll he no doubt picked up from his boyfriend. “I find myself rather attached to this job and I want to ensure I’m doing my best to keep it.” Jocelyn holds her hands up in surrender then leans back in her chair, steepling her fingers.

“Is this about Alec?” she asks eventually, and Magnus makes a horribly undignified noise.

“Surely not _everyone_ knows about me and Alec?” he says desperately, running a hand over his face. Jocelyn snorts.

“I’ve barely seen the two of you together and even _I_ know something’s going on there.”

“We aren’t _that_ obvious,” Magnus argues, and Jocelyn throws him an incredulous look.

“If you’re not immediately looking for him when you enter a room, he’s looking for you,” she says simply, and something about that pulls Magnus up short. He deflates a little in his terrible chair, and Jocelyn’s face softens a little, going sympathetic; Magnus is abruptly reminded that she is a mother whose child is missing, and wonders how she has the emotions to spare. “There aren’t any rules against it, as I’m sure you know, so I presume you have another reason for wanting to discuss your lack of subtlety?”

“Alec doesn’t want his integrity called into question,” Magnus says grimly. “Unfortunately, I’m finding it difficult to keep my hands off him - and my eyes, apparently. I mean, have you seen him?”

“He’s not much older than Clary,” Jocelyn says drily, something in her eyes going far away for a split-second before they snap back to him. “Have you seen _Luke?”_ Magnus narrows his eyes at her.

“Lucian?”

“Yes,” she confirms, then doesn’t say anything else. Of course Magnus has seen him; Magnus _works_ with him. Lucian’s an attractive man, pretty built, but it’s not as though Magnus struggles to function when they’re in a room together or anything. 

“What about him?”

“If I can control myself around Luke, you can control yourself around Alec,” Jocelyn says with a wry smile. “Neither of us are teenagers.”

Magnus _stares_ at her.

“You and _Luke?”_ He’s so shocked he doesn’t even bother calling him ‘Lucian’. Jocelyn raises her eyes despairingly to the ceiling.

“We’ve been together since Clary was a baby,” she explains, like she’s talking to a simpleton. “We’ve worked together for nearly five years, and not once have we let our relationship come before the work we do here. If Luke has any issues that require HR’s involvement, Aline takes over for me so there’s no conflict of interests, and we remain professional no matter what happens.”

Magnus mulls this over for a few moments, leaning back in his chair and trying not to wince; he’s already going numb in places he’d rather not be numb. Luke is more than passably attractive, and Jocelyn is presumably _into that;_ he’s not naïve enough to think that you stop feeling like this after a certain age, so he ignores the little voice in the back of his head saying he and Alec are _different_ , that they’re _younger_. He tries not to think about his father’s appetites too often, but he supposes Asmodeus is a prime example of age not being a barrier to these things (even when, Magnus thinks privately, they really should be).

“Consider your point made, Jocelyn,” he concedes eventually, standing up from his chair and wondering how long it’s going to take for the feeling to come back in his ass. “Thank you for your time.”

“It’s what I’m here for,” she says - and yes, Magnus supposes on some level it _is_ , but there’s something about the way she handled this that tells him she was talking to him as Jocelyn Fairchild, not Head of HR.

“When this is all over and we have Clary back,” Magnus says decisively, “you and I are going for brunch. There’s a place nearby that does criminally good eggs benedict and bottomless prosecco. We can talk about our boyfriends’ abs and how their continued insistence on wearing shirts is grounds for prosecution.” Jocelyn smiles at him.

“When we get Clary back,” she agrees.

_When._

❧❧❧

The lead turns out to be a good one, and for several days Magnus keeps himself busy with other cases and sees neither hide nor hair of Alec and co. They text occasionally, but it’s brief, and Magnus finds himself pining just a little bit. It’s horrible; he doesn’t _pine_. It’s undignified.

He meets up with Catarina, Ragnor, and - surprisingly - Raphael one night for dinner, and spends the first ten minutes trying to get Raphael to admit he’s missed him. He’s unsuccessful, but he knows what’s in the cold little weasel’s heart, and it’s Magnus’s _face_ , okay?

“I’ve been so busy in acquisition I didn’t even notice you’d left until Ragnor told me,” Raphael says smoothly, because he’s a lying liar who lies. “Chasing a boy all the way to the DA’s office? That’s got to be a new low, Magnus.”

“He works for the FBI,” Magnus says with a pointed look. “If I were going to chase him at all - which I most certainly am not - I’d be taking their entrance examinations by now.” Raphael looks vaguely disgusted at the idea of anyone voluntarily working for the FBI, then takes a fortifying sip of his Merlot.

“Apparently everyone’s a little annoyed that you took away their eye candy,” Cat says with a grin, twirling her fork between her fingers. “Even Lydia seemed a bit put out by his request to leave - although I don’t suppose she knew he was gay and into overdramatic snakes like yourself.”

“I am _just_ the right amount of dramatic,” Magnus says primly - he’s not going to argue with the snake thing. They’ve all been a little slippery at one time or another; it comes with the territory. “And I thank whatever Gods may be listening every day that Alexander’s gay. I’m not sure how it happened, but it did, and I am forever grateful.”

“I’m putting an embargo on all talk of your boy toy,” Raphael says, lip curled in distaste. “You’ll put me off my steak.”

“You’d think the fact that it’s practically still mooing would do that, my dear child,” Ragnor counters, tone indulgent. Raphael rolls his eyes, but there’s fondness there, and not for the first time Magnus wonders if Ragnor adopted Raphael without him noticing. It’s possible.

“So, did you hear about Amanda?” Cat says once their main courses have arrived; Raphael’s steak really is quite disgustingly blue. Magnus viciously spears a new potato and raises his eyebrows at her.

“My father’s girlfriend?” he asks, as though there’s another Amanda she could be talking about. Cat nods, looking gleeful. “Given that my father has all but disowned me since I sold my shares to Ragnor and inadvertently made him a joint partner in the business, I would say access to any information on his love life - for lack of a better phrase - has somewhat dried up. Why?”

Cat looks delighted; there’s nothing she likes more than being the first one to give him gossip.

“She drugged him and stole a whole bunch of stuff from his complex,” she says giddily, and Magnus almost chokes on his potato. “Turns out her name’s probably not even Amanda, and she was literally out to take him for everything he has. I think he was about to trade her in for a new model, so she had to move up her timeline slightly.”

“Catarina,” Magnus says solemnly, putting a hand over hers and staring into her eyes. “That is the best news I’ve heard all week. Thank you for this gift.” Cat’s eyes glitter.

“She got several pieces from his private art collection,” she continues, and Magnus removes his hand from hers simply so he can press it against his mouth. “She must have been doing some _serious_ monitoring because that room’s like Fort Knox, the way you tell it.”

“Darling, Fort Knox is child’s play compared to the measures my father takes to protect his sculptures,” Magnus says, sounding and feeling utterly winded. This is _delightful._

“She took his Bugatti,” Cat says solemnly, and Magnus can actually feel tears welling up in his eyes.

“If the police ever find her,” he says, a little choked up, “I’m going to send her the biggest fruit basket you’ve ever seen in your life.”

❧❧❧

It’s almost a week after they go after that first good lead that Magnus gets to see Alec again. He’s working from home, for no other reason that it gives him a little peace and quiet, and he’s not really expecting to hear from his boyfriend until much later in the day. Alexander’s updates tend to come to Magnus in the evening, so when he receives a text from him well before lunchtime, he’s pleasantly surprised.

**[From: Alexander] [10:30]**

_Tell me you’re free at lunch._

**[To: Alexander] [10:32]**

_I’m doing case work from home, pup - I can be free any time._

**[From: Alexander] [10:33]**

_Pup???_

**[10:33]**

_Please don’t try and make that a thing._

**[To: Alexander] [10:35]**

_No? Well, you can’t win them all I suppose. Will you be coming to the loft?_

**[From: Alexander] [10:37]**

_If that’s okay?_

**[To: Alexander] [10:37]**

_You’re always welcome here, Alexander._

**[From: Alexander] [10:38]**

_Good. I’ve missed you._

**[To: Alexander] [10:39]**

_I’ve missed you terribly, darling._

❧❧❧

“Okay that rule about professionalism? It extends to pet names,” Alec says seriously, like he’s not literally straddling Magnus’s lap right now because he managed to get here at twelve on the dot, and they decided this was the best use of his free time. “I mean, ‘pup’ is just… not happening. Anywhere. But the other ones are just for here. Agreed?”

“What other ones, darling?” Magnus says with a slow smile, enjoying the flush that immediately starts to spread across Alec’s face at the term of endearment. “I suppose you don’t seem to mind ‘angel’,” he continues, almost to himself; Alec’s shifting slightly in his lap now, and Magnus can read him like a fucking Times Square billboard. Yeah, Alec had very much enjoyed ‘angel’ when it had slipped out in bed the other week; just how _much_ he’d enjoyed it had been a surprise to both of them. “Other than that, I can’t think of anything. Would you care to elaborate on what I’m not allowed to call you in the office?”

Alec sighs and rolls his eyes, then mumbles something barely audible.

“Sorry, darling? I didn’t quite catch that.” 

Alec sighs again, looking like he’s really regretting starting this conversation.

“... Pretty boy? You, um - you use that sometimes. That one’s okay here too.” Alec looks completely mortified now, like he wants the ground to swallow him up, but Magnus has never been more delighted.

“That surprises me,” he muses, watching as Alec’s face somehow goes even pinker, “but you really are incredibly pretty, Alexander. Particularly so right now.” He reaches out a hand and runs his thumb across the flush on Alec’s right cheekbone, following the warmth of it down his jaw and neck before leaning in to replace his hand with his mouth. Alec makes an unintelligible noise when Magnus presses his tongue against a faded bruise, left there by his teeth almost a week ago now, and begging to be renewed.

“I have to leave in ten minutes,” Alec says breathlessly, but he’s still gripping at Magnus’s shoulders and angling his head so Magnus can have better access to the glorious expanse of his neck, so it doesn’t seem like relevant information right now.

“Not going to take that long, angel,” he murmurs against Alec’s throat, feeling the way the other man’s pulse jumps in response under his mouth, breath stuttering hotly across Magnus’s cheek.

It only takes them eight minutes, pants and underwear shoved down their thighs so they can rut against each other, too keyed up to even bother trying to get to the bedroom. Magnus wraps a hand around them both and sucks a bruise into the skin just below Alec’s ear, and Alec comes with a noise like he’s been mortally wounded. It’s the noise that sets Magnus off, the sound of it so primal and desperate that it only takes a few more strokes of his hand, slicked with Alec’s come, before he follows suit with a groan.

“Good thing you have a few shirts here,” Magnus muses, feeling both grounded and like he’s floating away. Alec looks like he wants to be mad about just how much of a mess they’ve made of each other, but it doesn’t work, and when Magnus closes the minute gap between them to kiss him softly on the mouth, Alec responds instantly. He’s always like that - so _responsive_. It makes Magnus completely weak.

“Good thing I thought ahead and _left_ a few shirts here,” Alec corrects him, and just the suggestion that Alec’s considered all the situations in which he might need spare shirts (overnight stays and precisely what they just did on the couch, for example) has Magnus kissing him that little bit harder. Who knew organisation and forward-planning would get him this hot and bothered?

Eventually Alec really does need to change and go, but he lets Magnus pin him to the door before he leaves, kissing him in a way that leaves no doubt as to what he’d rather be doing with his mouth. Alec shivers against him then pushes him away, looking turned on and reproachful.

“I really have to go,” he says, sounding pissed as hell about it. “Like, now.”

“Go,” Magnus says, stepping back with a shaky sigh and waving a hand at him, “before I stop caring how important your job is and just drag you to the bedroom with me.”

“Not helping,” Alec growls, darting forward to press one final kiss to Magnus’s lips before he wrenches the door open and steps out into the hallway. “I’ll text you. Just… stay safe, okay?” It hadn’t occurred to Magnus that Alec might be worried about him through all this, so he offers him a small smile even as his heart speeds up pathetically in his chest.

“I could say the same to you, Agent Lightwood.” Alec flushes, swallowing a little and rolling his eyes like that’s going to hide how much he _likes it_ when Magnus calls him that. He’s not fooling anyone.

“I’m going now,” he says firmly.

“So it would seem,” Magnus says with another faint smile, and then Alec’s gone and Magnus is shutting the door behind him with a sinking heart. He’s just so horribly in love with the man.

❧❧❧

The next day is distinctly less fun.

Magnus is tired. They all are. They’re closing in on Clary and Valentine, and it’s all hands on deck from this point onwards. It’s been a 16 hour workday so far, and for most of the people in this room it isn’t over yet; Jace is wearily determined, as are Luke and Jocelyn, and Magnus knows full well that Izzy and Alec won’t be leaving while Jace needs them there. Loath though he is to leave Alexander behind, Magnus understands a little of family obligations, even though this is clearly a much healthier dynamic than the one he has with his own father.

And when his thoughts turn gloomily to the realisation that his father would almost certainly not be so perturbed by his own child’s disappearance, he decides it’s probably well past time for him to get some sleep.

He rises quietly from his chair and goes on a quick sweep of the room, picking up empty coffee cups and throwing them in the trash, getting murmurs of thanks and vague, distracted half-smiles in return. He reminds himself to order a decent coffee machine for the board room when he gets home; lord knows Lucian won’t do it with city funds, but there’s nothing to say he can’t use his own.

“I’ll see what some of my contacts know,” Magnus tells Luke in a low voice, receiving a grateful look and a firm handshake in return. He moves back to his own seat and gathers up his things, nodding at the room at large as he takes his leave.

And then, because - as previously noted - he is very tired, he leans into Alec’s space and presses a kiss to his forehead.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.”

The entire room goes still, Alec included.

Magnus is going to have to style this out like he’s never styled anything out before in his _life_. He forces himself to move smoothly over to Izzy to ruffle her hair, and the look of pure, fatigued delight that flashes across her face seems to break the tension immediately. Jace’s eyes are suspiciously watery when Magnus squeezes his shoulder companionably, and out of the corner of his eye, Magnus can see some of the tightness leaving Alec’s shoulders.

When he gets home, he immediately orders half a dozen pizzas from his favourite takeout place and has them delivered to the DA boardroom. Then, duty done to the best of his limited ability, he gets ready for bed with a bone-deep weariness that almost has him using Alec’s toothbrush instead of his own.

Which - since when has Alec had a toothbrush here? Magnus is too tired by far to think about the implications of that, but he makes a mental note to think about it a lot tomorrow. It seems like it could be important.

Before he falls asleep, he receives a barrage of thank you texts from everyone who’s still working; the pizzas have obviously arrived and Izzy in particular is effusive in her thanks. He’s not sure when she got his number, but he’s hardly surprised.

Alec’s text is a little later than the rest, no doubt because he was busy devising a fair and equal system for division of the food. Not for the first time, Magnus feels a great surge of affection for him.

**[From: Alexander] [23:35]**

_Thanks for the pizzas. You didn’t have to, but it was really nice of you. Jace has already eaten half of one - pretty sure his jaw unhinged like a snake. I don’t think I saw him chew._

**[To: Alexander] [23:40]**

_While that sounds horrifying… you’re welcome, darling. Hopefully that will fuel you all for a couple of hours, or until one of you realises that sleep is necessary for health - not that I’m usually one to talk._

**[From: Alexander] [23:42]**

_Yeah, we’ll see._

**[23:42]**

_I’m not vetoing sweetheart. By the way._

**[To: Alexander] [23:45]**

_Noted. Goodnight, sweetheart._

**[From: Alexander] [23:37]**

_Night, Magnus._

❧❧❧

  1. ~~Be professional at all times~~




	3. Go easy on flirtatious texts/emails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus introduces Alec to sexting, except Alec is horribly good at it and Magnus is truly lost.

Magnus doesn’t see Alec for two days after that which, while it has become _normal_ for them, remains completely excruciating. Magnus wants him all the time, and what’s worse is that it isn’t just sex he’s craving; that, at least, has a clear stop-gap solution available.

What’s harder to stave off is the pang of longing he gets when he thinks about inane things like _holding hands_ with the man; he wants to take Alec out for dinner, curl up with him on the couch with their clothes _on_ , watch stupid television shows and fall asleep on Alec’s shoulder. He wants the intimacy they’d just begun to explore before their lives had become too complicated to support it.

Today, however, Magnus would settle for _just_ the sex. He wakes up horny and, even after taking care of it in the shower (remembering the broken noises Alec makes when he comes really helps speed things up), he ends up right back at ‘kind of fucking desperate’ by midday. It’s one of his rare, true days off, forced on him by Jocelyn when she realised he hadn’t taken any of his annual leave in the two months he’d been there, and he has no idea what to do with himself.

Well, he has an _idea_ , but he doesn’t know if Alec’s going to like it.

**[To: Alexander] [12:06]**

_Are you busy?_

The response is so immediate and concerned that Magnus almost feels bad. Almost.

**[From: Alexander] [12:06]**

_Is something wrong?_

**[To: Alexander] [12:07]**

_I’m fine, Alexander. Just wondering if you have a moment to help me with a problem._

**[From: Alexander] [12:08]**

_Yeah sure, I’ve got ten minutes or so, I guess. What do you need?_

That, Magnus thinks as he settles down on the edge of his bed, is a very broad question indeed, with a million possible answers. What he _needs_ and what is available to him are two very different things right now; he will have to adapt.

**[To: Alexander] [12:10]**

_Well, as it’s a day of the week with a ‘y’ in it, mostly what I need is you inside me. However, I would settle for a few moments of your time in talking me through getting myself off._

Magnus imagines Alec reading his message, the look of shock on his face all too easy to conjure up in his mind’s eye. Will he blush immediately? Shift uncomfortably in his chair? Is he with other people right now? Magnus is half hard already in his pants and he’s barely even gotten started. Alec, predictably, takes a while to respond.

**[From: Alexander] [12:15]**

_You cannot be serious right now, Magnus. I’m at work._

**[To: Alexander] [12:16]**

_Yes, but I’m not. All I’m asking for is a little encouragement as I open myself up, sweetheart - I didn’t think you’d mind._

**[From: Alexander] [12:18]**

_I don’t have my own office, I can’t_

The text ends there like Alec just fumbled his phone, and Magnus grins delightedly as he reaches over to the bedside table and grabs the lube; he shimmies out of his pants and underwear, then pulls off his shirt. He has the feeling he’s already won.

**[12:18]**

_Nearly dropped my phone, sorry. Magnus, I can’t even think about that right now. There’s nowhere I can go._

**[To: Alexander] [12:19]**

_Get creative, darling - I’m quite desperate to start, you know. I can’t get the angle quite like you can with those gorgeous fingers of yours, but needs must._

**[From: Alexander] [12:20]**

_Fuck, okay._

**[12:21]**

_I can’t believe I’m literally hiding in a closet for this. You’re insane._

**[To: Alexander] [12:22]**

_And incredibly horny. God, Alexander, I’m so desperate for you all the time - tell me I can have your cock soon, darling. Want you to fill me up._

**[From: Alexander] [12:22]**

_Jesus, Magnus._

Magnus slicks up his fingers and moves his free hand down between his legs, applying just the slightest pressure and waiting. He still feels triumphant, but it’s paling into insignificance alongside the need heating up his veins.

**[12:23]**

_If I were there I’d start working you open with just one finger, nice and slow to start with. Can you do that for me?_

Magnus shudders, impossibly aroused by Alec’s agreement to play this game, and does as he’s told; the pressure of it quickly turns to more delightful heat as he struggles not to add a second finger immediately.

**[To: Alexander] [12:24]**

_It feels so good - I’m ready for more though, tell me I can have more._

**[From: Alexander] [12:25]**

_Not yet. Fuck, I bet you look so gorgeous, laid out for me and desperate to be filled._

Magnus whimpers a little at that, pushing back against the barely-there pressure of one finger and wondering if anyone in their right mind could have guessed that Alec would be this good at sexting. Magnus hadn’t been expecting _him_ to be the one getting flustered.

**[To: Alexander] [12:26]**

_I am, I need it - please, darling, I need more._

**[From: Alexander] [12:26]**

_Give yourself a second one now - take it slow though. I want you to feel it. Really wish I could see you taking it._

When this is over, Magnus thinks, shuddering through the pleasing burn of another finger, he’s going to find out where the hell Alec learned to text like this. Then he’s going to thank whoever coached him, before wiping them off the face of the earth.

**[To: Alexander] [12:27]**

_I’ll let you watch sometime. God, I’m so close already, so full. Are you touching yourself, Alexander? Tell me you’re fisting that gorgeous cock of yours, wishing you were buried inside me._

**[From: Alexander] [12:28]**

_Jesus - yeah of course I am. Probably only going to last another minute. Can I call you?_

Magnus doesn’t even bother to respond, just hits the call button next to Alec’s name at the top of his screen and shoves the phone between his ear and his shoulder, immediately wrapping his newly freed hand around his cock.

 _“You’re ridiculous,”_ Alec says the second he answers the phone, sounding breathless and turned on. Magnus shuts his eyes and tightens his grip slightly.

“You can insult me all you want,” he says a little desperately. “Even that’s doing it for me. _Fuck,_ Alec, I wish you were here with me, sweetheart.” Alec makes a broken little noise and Magnus wants nothing more than to march into the FBI’s offices, drag Alec back to his apartment, and never let him leave. 

_“This is breaking at least three and a half of our rules,”_ Alec gasps, and if Magnus strains his ears he can just about hear the sound of him jerking off in the background. He moans and pushes into his own fist, crooking the fingers of his other hand and feeling the heat in his stomach coil just a fraction tighter in response; Alec is hiding in a fucking cupboard, hand wrapped around himself, seconds from coming just from a few texts. It’s all just _a lot._

“But you always look so pretty when you break the rules, Alexander-” The sentence is barely out of his mouth before Alec’s groaning, obviously trying to muffle the sound of his release, and Magnus follows him immediately with a choked-off moan. It’s overwhelmingly good, being able to hear Alec rather than just imagine how he sounds.

 _“Fuck, I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,”_ Alec says eventually, sounding winded and a little guilty.

“Frankly, darling, neither can I,” Magnus says honestly, just about managing to hold his phone in place while he grabs some cleaning wipes from the bedside table. “Clearly I underestimated my charms - though that’s not something I’ve ever been accused of before.”

 _“I think you just underestimated how much I’m missing you,”_ Alec says frankly, and yeah - actually, that’s much better. _“And speaking of being missed…”_

“Yes, we mustn’t get you into trouble, Agent Lightwood,” Magnus teases, feeling light and frankly borderline elated after this truly unexpected and spectacular turn of events. Alec makes a noise somewhere between a hiss and groan.

 _“Don’t_ do _that.”_

“I am a paragon of virtue,” Magnus lies brazenly, ignoring Alec’s derisive snort, “and I have done nothing wrong. Possibly ever.”

 _“Incredible,”_ Alec says faintly, the sound of him zipping up his pants just audible in the background. _“I haven’t seen cognitive dissonance like this since that time Jace said he didn’t like girls who were too full of themselves.”_ Of course Jace said that.

“I hope someone hit him.”

_“Izzy dislocated his shoulder.”_

“Marvellous,” Magnus says brightly, oddly cheered by the image.

_“I really do have to go now, Magnus, but that was… We can’t make a habit out of that.”_

“Not with _that_ attitude we can’t.”

 _“Magnus,”_ Alec murmurs, and God, his name really does sound like something else entirely coming out of Alexander’s mouth. _“Boundaries. We set them for a reason.”_ Magnus sighs and closes his eyes.

“I know, Alexander. You’re right - consider me appropriately chastised.”

 _“I’ll see you-”_ Alec stops himself; he’d obviously been about to say ‘soon’, but who fucking knows at the moment. Magnus _hopes_ it’ll be soon. It’s possible he might have some very important things to say to this man, and he’s beginning to think he should say them in fairly short order.

“Soon,” Magnus finishes for him, daring to be hopeful.

 _“Yeah,”_ Alec breathes.

When Magnus finally lets Alec go, he misses him almost immediately. He’s not sure how he got here, but he’s beginning to realise there’s probably no way back from this - that there’s no coming back from what Alexander has unlocked in him. 

He thinks he’d probably better tell Alec that.

❧❧❧

The next day is _significantly_ less sexy.

For starters, Magnus gets a message from Crim Jim, which is about as far from sexy as it’s possible to get. Crim Jim does not believe in showers - his primary concern being something to do with mind control substances in the water - and while Magnus’s first interaction with him is a simple text message from a burner phone, he still feels a little unclean by association.

CJ apparently has further information on Valentine’s whereabouts, and the details are incredibly time sensitive; as is usual in these situations, the only thing they can confirm over text is a time and a place to meet. Magnus considers letting Alec know what’s happening, before he dismisses the idea. It could very well be a dead end, and he’s sure his boyfriend’s busy with other leads anyway.

He regrets this decision roughly thirty seconds after arriving at their chosen meeting spot, when it becomes clear that CJ’s message has been intercepted, and he has in fact walked into an ambush. How gauche.

“Well, _this_ isn’t my knitting circle,” Magnus says mildly, looking around at the three men who, judging from their lack of reaction to his words, have had their sense of humour glands completely removed. “I must have had the date wrong! Or the alley. There are _quite a few_ alleys in New York, so it’s an easy mistake to make.”

The first guy swings at him and Magnus springs into action. Clearly not expecting to meet any resistance, he goes down easily when Magnus evades his fist and takes out his legs, a calculated open-palmed blow to the chin snapping his head back as he falls; he’s unconscious before he hits the ground.

The other two, apparently smart enough to realise that Magnus isn’t going down as easily as they’d judged from his tasteful shirt and waistcoat combo, aren’t quite as easy to take down.

However, given that Magnus is currently only seeing his boyfriend perhaps once a week (if he’s lucky), he _has_ been taking out quite a lot of his frustrations at his building’s on-site gym. While he’s exhausted by the time he’s incapacitated his final attacker with a fist to his left kidney, all he has are a few bruises and a split lip.

He calls it in, waits, has his statement taken by a very nervous looking rookie officer, and is finally let go just over an hour later.

“Lucian,” Magnus says the second Luke picks up his phone, “it’s possible I was just ambushed by three very large men in a back alley, and it didn’t end the way the internet would have you believe.”

 _“Are you alright?”_ Luke asks quickly, all business in spite of Magnus’s _very_ funny joke.

“Fine, fine,” he says impatiently, waving off the question and rolling his shoulders as he makes his way back to his flat. “I called it in, the police are handling it now. Someone must’ve got to CJ, and that can really only mean one thing.”

 _“We’re getting close to Valentine,”_ Luke says firmly. Magnus hums affirmatively. _“Does Alec know about this?”_

“I’m not sure that’s wise,” Magnus says slowly, thinking about the bruise he can feel across his jaw as he speaks.

 _“He’s going to find out anyway,”_ Luke says with a sigh. _“This concerns the team. Alec is_ part _of that team. You do the math.”_ Magnus swears under his breath and runs a hand through his hair; he’d usually avoid doing so, but it’s already ruined so he gives into the self-soothing nature of the gesture.

“Fine,” he says eventually, “you’re right. I really do _hate_ when you’re right, Lucian.”

 _“Call him,”_ Luke says, _“and take the rest of the day. If Jocelyn sees you on the server I’ll have her kick you off.”_

“You’re so horribly reasonable,” Magnus says with a beleaguered sigh. Fuck, his jaw really is starting to ache now. One of those guys had managed to land a pretty decent right hook.

_“Goodbye, Magnus.”_

“Until we meet again, Lucian.”

Magnus has the horrible feeling that his next conversation isn’t going to go quite as well. He puts it off for as long as he can, showering the general grime of the morning off his body, pulling on jeans and one of Alec’s shirts for comfort, and reapplying his eyeliner. He’s not planning on seeing anyone else today, but it fortifies him for what’s ahead.

Then, after he’s run out of things to do, he calls Alec.

 _“Magnus, hey - everything alright?”_ Alec’s voice is, as usual, liltingly concerned, as though Magnus could have no other reason for calling him in the middle of the work day than to tell him of some terrible accident. In this case, of course, it’s not far off the mark, but Magnus hates that little thread of worry all the same.

“Alexander,” he says with all the warmth and cheer he can press into those four syllables. “Yes, I’m quite alright. I just have something important to discuss with you, if you have five minutes?” Apparently realising that this is _not_ a euphemism for a booty call, Alec immediately agrees.

 _“Yeah, sure. What’s up?”_ Magnus takes a breath.

“Now, you must promise not to go all caveman on me, darling, but I just had a very minor run-in with some goons who may or may not be linked to Valentine, and Lucian wanted me to update you.” There’s silence for a moment before Alec speaks again, and his voice is dangerously calm.

 _“I thought you said you were okay,”_ he says, iron in every word. Magnus tries not to wince.

“And I _am_ ,” he insists, free hand moving absentmindedly to brush his jaw, before he thinks better of it. “I’m still very much standing, darling, and they most certainly are _not.”_ The silence extends for another few seconds.

_“Are you at your loft?”_

“Well, yes, but-”

 _“Stay there,”_ Alec says firmly, _“I’m coming over.”_

“You don’t need to-”

But Alec’s already hung up.

❧❧❧

  1. ~~Go easy on flirtatious texts/emails~~




	4. Don't let disagreements affect your work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fights and apologies. Magnus has never been wrong in his _life_ and he's not about to start now.

Magnus is pacing the apartment when Alec knocks on his door; he’s practically worn a groove in the hardwood, but it can only have been fifteen minutes since they spoke on the phone. Magnus doesn’t know why he’s nervous - it’s not like he’s done anything _wrong_ \- but his heart’s in his mouth for all the wrong reasons when he swings the door open to let Alec inside.

“Hi,” Magnus says a little weakly, shaken by the look in Alec’s eyes as he immediately homes in on the bruise on Magnus’s jaw. He steps into the flat in silence, kicking the door shut behind him before running gentle hands over Magnus’s face, inspecting him with a thoroughness and care that makes Magnus’s pulse flutter.

“This is an interesting definition of ‘alright’, Mags,” Alec says tightly, running a thumb over the cut on Magnus’s lower lip and frowning. There’s a sharpness to the set of his jaw that says he’d very much like to be punching someone right now, and is perhaps a little miffed that Magnus already punched everyone involved before he could do it. He pulls away, and Magnus resists the urge to chase after the solid warmth of his hands. “How did this happen?”

“I was meeting a contact,” he explains, moving back into the living room and feeling a mild sense of relief when Alec follows stiffly behind him. “I can only assume he was intercepted, because when I got to the agreed meeting place, three hired hands were waiting for me.” Alec makes a frustrated little noise in the back of his throat but his face is still stormy, so Magnus isn’t sure if he imagined the hurt there. “I took them out, called the police, and now I’m here. It really was quite anticlimactic.” Alec’s arms tighten where they’re folded across his chest.

“You could’ve been really badly hurt, Magnus,” he says through gritted teeth, and actually, Magnus is starting to get a little annoyed now.

“And I could get run down by a New York taxi cab tomorrow,” he says sharply, “which would be a lot harder to avoid. I can deal with a few barely-trained goons, Alec.”

“You need to stop trying to help on this case.”

Magnus stares at him in disbelief, because he cannot _possibly_ have heard that right.

“I’m not sure I like your use of the word ‘trying’ there, Alexander,” he says slowly, feeling his hackles rise even as he thinks, _“I should probably de-escalate this situation.”_ Alec stares back at him, eyes hard and determined, and Magnus really wishes that the part of him that’s _angry_ at how he’s being treated right now was a wholly separate entity from the part of him that wants to _do things_ to Alec when he’s got that look in his eyes.

“You’ve already gotten hurt once,” Alec continues, gaze not wavering for a moment, “and it could so easily happen again. You need to take a step back.”

_“You_ could get hurt!” Magnus says disbelievingly, and suddenly it’s like a _dam_ breaks.

“I’m literally trained for this,” Alec says angrily, throwing his hands up in the air. “This is my _job_ , Magnus. You’re a lawyer, not an agent - you’ve already been fucking kidnapped because I got you involved in something I shouldn’t have, and it’s just going to happen all over again.” Magnus bristles at the implication.

“I can take care of myself,” he says icily, folding his arms.

“I didn’t say you-”

“You essentially _just_ said I was going to get kidnapped again,” Magnus interrupts, “so actually, I think the implication was _indeed_ that you think I can’t take care of myself. It may have escaped your notice, but until very recently I had managed to survive without your input.”

“I’m not going to apologise for wanting to protect someone I love,” Alec practically growls, seeming even taller than usual in his self-righteous anger, filling up the apartment like so much hot air. Magnus has just enough presence of mind to feel a little shock of pleasure at the confession, but it’s very quickly consumed by the simmering anger in his bones.

“And yet I should feel apologetic for wanting to help and protect someone _I_ love?” he argues. “You may have experience of kidnap and torture, and all those other horrible things you deal with when you work for the FBI, but I know people like Valentine. You have absolutely nothing he wants and he has _everything_ you want.”

“We have Jocelyn.” 

Magnus stares at Alec like he’s seeing him for the first time. Alec’s jaw is set, every inch of his body taut like he’s ready for an attack, as though he’s prepared for Magnus to go for him or something equally absurd. Something in Magnus breaks just a little at that, but it doesn’t change the facts: he will never be comfortable using anyone for bait with a criminal like Valentine Morgenstern, even someone who used to be married to him. Alec knows that, and it’s just another reason why he wants him to stay out of the case now; because at the end of the day, Alec will do what he has to in order to get the bad guy, and Magnus just isn’t convinced he’s thought about the cost.

“This argument is no longer useful to either of us,” he says calmly, falling onto the couch and waving a hand at the door. “Go home, Alexander.” There’s a pause. Never has a silence between them felt so loud and chaotic. So inherently _wrong_.

“What do you want from me?” Alec asks eventually, still quietly incensed if the tone of his voice is anything to go by. Magnus closes his eyes, feeling something ugly and resigned rise up in the pit of his stomach.

“Right now? Nothing.”

The apartment door closing behind Alec sounds horribly like a full stop.

❧❧❧

Magnus barely sleeps. It’s a combination of factors really; he thinks over their argument for hours, can’t stop replaying parts of it in his head like it’s going to help. Like it’s going to change the _facts_. Nothing he said was wrong, or unfair, and while he understands that Alec cares about him, he’s not allowed to use that as an excuse for making Magnus feel like he’s in the wrong for doing what he can to help.

Also, his jaw _really fucking hurts._

He’s barely conscious as he makes himself a coffee the next morning, having given up on sleep around 7am. He thinks he managed a couple of hours before sunrise, which is better than nothing, but he’s still barely functioning by the time he receives a surprise text from Izzy at quarter to eight.

**[From: Isabelle] [07:45]**

_Did Alec ever tell you that he tried to stop me from going to the academy so I could work with the FBI like him? He did literally everything he could, including involving our parents, leaving prospectuses for med school on my desk, and actually applying to some colleges on my behalf. When I got the acceptance letters I was absolutely furious with him._

Magnus stares at the text for a while, waiting for a follow-up that never comes. He dresses and boils the kettle, staring down at his phone as he waits for his second coffee to brew; he suspects he is going to need several _more_ coffees before the morning’s out. 

Only once he’s sitting down with a fresh mug does he text Isabelle back.

**[To: Isabelle] [08:00]**

_Why are you telling me this?_

**[From: Isabelle] [08:05]**

_Because Alec gets really stupid when he loves people. He wants to protect them from everything, whether the threat is real or not, and he doesn’t understand why that can be really fucking annoying. Just… please don’t give up on my brother. He’s an idiot, but he’s never dumber than when he’s scared for people._

**[To: Isabelle] [08:06]**

_How did you deal with him trying to hold you back from battle?_

**[From: Isabelle] [08:08]**

_I kicked his fucking ass. Jace had to pull me off him._

Magnus laughs in spite of himself. Of course she did.

**[To: Isabelle] [08:10]**

_I would expect nothing less._

**[From: Isabelle] [08:12]**

_Sometimes my brother NEEDS his ass kicking. He gets so far into his own head he can’t see sense._

**[08:13]**

_We’ll all be round the office today so I’ll probably see you in a bit. Think about what I said? I’ve never seen him as happy as he is when he’s with you._

**[To: Isabelle] [08:15]**

_I will consider kicking Alec’s ass, yes._

Magnus locks his phone and finishes his coffee. For now, all he needs to do is do his job; he can figure out everything else later.

❧❧❧

He feels marginally better by the time he gets to the office at 9am, which may well be down to the third coffee he had before leaving the house. He’s already planning on his fourth, now that he’s managed to discreetly install a fancy new machine in the boardroom. And another one in his office. There may also be one in HR now too, actually; he’s taken a liking to Jocelyn, and Maia is just so delightfully sarcastic in all her emails. He feels a kinship.

Also, the manufacturer had an offer on.

Luke catches him before he can get to a single one of these new coffee machines, however, which is a little frustrating. Then he solemnly hands Magnus a frothy latte and he not only forgives Luke instantly, but also briefly wonders whether Jocelyn would be up for some kind of timeshare.

“A true man of the people,” he says with a sigh, accepting the coffee and inhaling the aroma like it’s entirely new to him, and not the fourth time he’s smelled it today. “I presume this is your way of asking for a debrief on yesterday’s events?”

“I could get the police reports,” Luke says with a considering tilt of his head, “but I thought I could combine information gathering with seeing how you’re doing. Looks like you took quite the hit.”

“You should see the other guys,” Magnus says, entirely seriously. He walked out of that alleyway with his shirt still tucked in, which is at least a certain measure of success. Luke doesn’t roll his eyes, but it looks like it takes him a lot of effort to resist doing so.

“Well, as long as you’re alright…” he says, trailing off with one eyebrow raised in question.

“Dandy,” Magnus lies, trying not to think about literally anything else that happened yesterday. “Is the boardroom free? I can catch you up while I continue in my efforts to replace every molecule of my blood with caffeine.”

“Lead the way.”

❧❧❧

Luke eventually lets him get back to his office, satisfied that Magnus came out of that particular situation on top, and with the certainty that they’re about to close in on Valentine. It would be a good feeling, Magnus thinks as he closes his office door, if only he could think about anything but sleeping for a week.

That, and the horrible fact that his life got just a little bit worse when Alexander left his apartment yesterday.

He busies himself with work - cases don’t stop for DDAs just because there’s a madman on the loose, faking his own death to escape prison and kidnap his daughter - and by noon he’s exhausted. He leans back in his chair, aching in ways that are at least 80% physical, and wonders if he could just… fall asleep here. It’s _his_ office. He used to sleep in his office at Edom all the time… which wasn’t healthy then, and probably wouldn’t be healthy now either. He grimaces. He’s changing for the better, but it feels quite uncomfortable at times.

A knock on his door makes him jump and he shakes his head to clear it, calling out for whoever the interloper is to come in.

His breath catches in his throat when Alec enters the room, looking incredibly small for a man who takes up so much space. Magnus isn’t prepared for the rush of emotion that comes at the sight of him; he’s still kind of angry, but mostly it’s just love and relief, all mixed in with an abstract terror that maybe there’s no fixing this. There isn’t enough coffee in the _world_ for him to deal with this. He swallows.

“Alec,” he says eventually, standing from his chair just so he feels less _looked over_. He hopes he can stay upright through all of this.

“Magnus,” Alec says, and fuck he sounds _miserable;_ Magnus reminds himself that he wasn’t wrong yesterday and he isn’t wrong now, either. He doesn’t need to fold like a card tower in a breeze just because the man he loves is hurting. “Can we… can we talk?” Magnus looks at the weary set of Alec’s shoulders and thinks, _“how could I possibly deny you anything today?”_

Aloud, he says, “sure.”

“I haven’t been able to think straight since last night,” Alec admits, running a hand through his hair and leaving it sticking up adorably in impossible directions. Magnus ignores the obvious joke, because it doesn’t feel like the time, but it costs him quite a lot of mental energy to do so.

“Okay,” he says instead, raising his eyebrows in response. Alec purses his lips and straightens his back - then, just as quickly, his shoulders relax and he’s suddenly looking defeated and horribly vulnerable.

“When I said you getting hurt was just going to happen again,” Alec says with a soft sigh, thumb worrying at the palm of his other hand as he avoids eye contact, “that’s not what I meant.” Magnus hadn’t let himself notice before, but Alec is a little paler than usual, like he’s been up all night worrying he’s fucked everything up - just like Magnus has.

“I meant I was fucking _terrified_ it was going to happen again,” he continues. “When Sellick took you… Magnus, I’ve never felt that type of fear before. I was so scared I was going to get there too late, and I’d have to see you-” He cuts himself off, swallowing hard, then looks straight at Magnus. “I’m not going to apologise for wanting you out of harm’s way, but I am so, _so_ sorry about how I handled it. I shouldn’t have laid into you like that. It wasn’t fair, and I know I can’t try and force you to step back from this.”

Magnus nods, heart in his mouth.

“Good apology,” he says a little hoarsely, and the ghost of a smile passes across Alec’s face. “So, can we agree that I’m a grown man who’s capable of making his own decisions?”

“We can.”

“And can we also agree that the next time we say that we love each other, it won’t be halfway through a really stupid argument?” Alec’s face softens and he steps forward, hands dropping to his sides from where he’s been anxiously rubbing them together.

“Are you busy right now?”

“I could clear my calendar,” Magnus says softly, letting himself relax as Alec takes another step closer to him.

“Okay,” Alec says, nodding seriously, and then he’s entirely in Magnus’s space, hands very gently framing his face and holding him in place like Alec’s own gravitational pull isn’t already doing that; like Magnus hasn’t felt drawn into his orbit for longer than he’d care to admit. “I love you.” Magnus smiles and slides his arms around Alec’s waist.

“I love you too.”

“Cool,” Alec says solemnly, straight faced but for the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

“Very,” Magnus agrees drily, reeling him in for a kiss that settles every atom in his body. His jaw aches, and he still feels absolutely exhausted, but his body hums with the rightness of having Alec pressed against him, mouth soft and sweet against his. Alec pulls away after a moment, resting his forehead against Magnus’s as though moving any further away from him would be a virtual impossibility.

“I love you,” Alec says again. Magnus’s heart still isn’t ready for it. “I think I’m going to be saying that a lot.” Magnus smiles, giddy with relief and, quite possibly, lack of sleep.

“I love you too,” he replies, because that part is at least pretty simple; they love each other and it can just be _that_ easy. “You might have some competition though, as I just purchased several new coffee machines for the office.”

“Oh yeah?” Alec sounds fondly amused and Magnus aches with it.

“Yes,” he says seriously. “One of them has a frothing function. I’m itching to try it out.”

“I’m surprised you know how to use it if it’s that technologically advanced,” Alec comments drily, but he’s smiling like he can’t help himself and Magnus can’t even be mad about it.

“Fortunately, I know a pretty boy nerd who can help me out,” Magnus says, and Alec probably rolls his eyes but then they’re kissing again, so Magnus can’t really be sure. He’s _definitely_ blushing though.

❧❧❧

  1. ~~Don’t let disagreements affect your work~~




	5. No sex in the workplace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus thinks the law is great, but homemade rules were made to be broken.

The next day their little team all but goes into battle. They know where Valentine is now, surveillance footage confirms it, and their intelligence makes them as sure as they can be that Clary’s in there with him. After what happened to Magnus, they can’t wait any longer to make their move.

Jocelyn is the bait, because no matter what Magnus might think about it, it’s not his operation; also, it kind of seems as though Jocelyn insisted, and Magnus can’t imagine anyone going up against her and winning. If Clary’s anything like her, suddenly she and Jace make a lot more sense; she could probably destroy Jace with a look.

“If you get hurt,” Magnus murmurs into the warmth of Alec’s neck, having dragged him into his office for an extremely tight hug before they leave for the FBI's headquarters (or wherever it is they keep all their big, dangerous weapons), “I have a free pass to be extraordinarily annoyed with you.”

“Yeah?” Alec asks shakily, like nobody’s ever expressed this kind of concern for him before. Maybe they haven’t, Magnus realises; Izzy and Jace are always by his side when he’s in danger, and being with someone like Magnus appears to be an entirely new concept for Alec.

“Yes,” he confirms. “I love you, and I will be tremendously pissed off if you get even so much as a papercut.”

“How would I be getting a papercut in this scenario?”

“I’m sure you’d find a way,” Magnus says darkly, and then pulls Alec down into an incredibly thorough kiss that has them both breathing heavily when Magnus reluctantly moves away a moment later. 

It turns out it is absolute _hell_ watching Alec walk off into danger. Who knew?

Predictably, Magnus doesn’t really get to be there for any of the exciting stuff - not that he’s particularly interested in bloodshed and loud noises, but there’s something to be said for not having to wait around and worry.

He waits in his office, then goes home, then goes back to the office because he can’t seem to concentrate on anything while Alec’s out there facing down a murdering psychopath. It’s hours of _nothing_ , just him and Luke occasionally passing in the corridors, drinking endless cups of coffee and taking equally numerous bathroom breaks. The whole building feels tense, and Magnus hates it, but at least he’s not the only one on edge.

When his phone rings and Alec’s number comes up on the screen a few hours later, he fumbles with it so badly he almost throws it to the floor. As it is he catches it just in time, hands embarrassingly shaky as he slides a thumb across the screen to answer it.

“Alexander?”

 _“He’s absolutely fine, but this is Jace,”_ says someone who is distinctly _not_ Alexander.

“If he’s _fine_ ,” Magnus says through gritted teeth, “why does he have a secretary now?”

 _“I’d be a great secretary,”_ Jace muses. _“I’m hot and I have a really great telephone manner.”_ Magnus isn’t really sure where to start with all of that, so instead he just says Alec’s name again, louder and with a much more enthusiastic verbal question mark after it. _“Yeah, so - a bullet grazed his arm, but that’s literally it. Someone’s looking him over while he complains about it. Like, really loudly.”_ Magnus remembers how Alec had looked the other day when his fingers had brushed the bruise at Magnus’s jaw, and wonders if this is how he’d felt.

“He got shot,” Magnus confirms, voice hard.

 _“Like, barely,”_ Jace says with the verbal equivalent of a shrug. _“He’s been shot way worse than this before.”_

“I feel like you think you’re making me feel better,” Magnus manages to say eventually, “but I can assure you it’s having quite the opposite effect.”

 _“I did try to get Izzy to do this,”_ Jace offers, _“but believe it or not she’s actually worse at comforting people than I am.”_ Magnus doesn’t find this particularly hard to believe. Isabelle is incredible, in the same way that a very dangerous and razor-toothed wild animal is incredible; everyone can agree that a killer whale breaching the water is something to behold, but you wouldn’t let it hold your newborn baby.

Magnus sighs and forces himself to relax. Alec is fine. He’s off somewhere complaining about people trying to take care of him, not bleeding out on the floor of some nondescript warehouse.

“Okay,” he says firmly, “fine. Tell him if he doesn’t come to the office the second he’s let go by whatever medical professional is currently tending to him that I will engage my Papercut Protocol.”

 _“We don’t have debrief until tomorrow morning,”_ Jace says easily, _“so that’s probably fine.”_ It’s cute how Jace thinks Magnus cares about when their debrief is. _“Also, what the fuck is Papercut Protocol? It sounds like either a sex thing or an early 2000s emo band.”_

Magnus hangs up on him.

❧❧❧

It’s another forty-five minutes before Magnus sees Alec, but he is at least kept well occupied in the meantime. Luke must have been on the phone with Jocelyn when Magnus was talking to Jace, because he looks like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders when he knocks on Magnus’s door. They took Valentine in, got Clary out of there without a scratch on her, and suffered only a couple of minor casualties in the process.

“Flesh wounds,” Luke confirms, looking grimly satisfied, “nothing serious.”

One of which was a bullet grazing Alec’s arm, Magnus thinks wildly. Seems like Papercut Protocol is already engaged, whether he likes it or not.

Luke leaves Magnus to his nervous waiting, and it’s well past when he’d usually be home when there’s a tentative knock at his door; it opens before Magnus can respond, and Alec sticks his head round the door, looking wary but reassuringly whole.

Magnus stands up sharply and marches towards him, dragging Alec inside and slamming the door closed with a definitive crack. He’s wearing the same gear as earlier, except the black pants are now a little dusty and his thigh holster is empty; also, his overshirt and tac vest are gone, leaving him in a sleeveless black undershirt, a thin strip of bandages circling his left bicep. Magnus touches his fingers very gently to the clean, white fabric, then turns his face up to Alec’s with a look of barely banked rage.

“You had one job,” he says tightly, then Alec’s kissing him like he’s starving and Magnus forgets about literally everything except that. He forgets to be mad when Alec pushes him onto his desk, barely avoiding the monitors that now take up two-thirds of the available space; he’s too busy trying to taste every inch of Alec’s mouth, hands grabbing at his shoulders and neck because he’s afraid if he lets go, Alec will just fade away.

“‘M fine,” Alec gasps against him, allowing a couple of inches of space to exist between them for a brief moment in time before Magnus decides it’s _awful_ and reels him back in. Alec’s hands are everywhere, undoing his shirt buttons and fumbling with his belt buckle, and Magnus wants to help - he really does - but he feels weak in the throes of his own desperate need.

As his own shirt falls away, he’s seized with a sudden and intense need to see more of Alec, to have his wholeness _proved_ to him, and that’s what forces him to tear himself away, pulling in a couple of shuddering breaths. He hadn’t even realised he’d needed oxygen.

“Take this off,” he says, a little harsh and grating in his desperation, tugging at the hem of Alec’s tank top and thanking any Gods that may be listening when Alec pulls the thing immediately over his head. Magnus runs his palms over increasingly familiar scars and old wounds, letting his fingers linger over the tattoo at Alec’s hip before scratching his nails through the smattering of hair across his chest.

“I’m here,” Alec murmurs against his mouth, pulling him back in and clinging to him almost as desperately before he goes back to working on Magnus’s belt. “I’m here, I’m fine.”

“Can’t believe you got _shot,”_ Magnus says brokenly, and Alec immediately moves back in to kiss him again, swallowing the bitterness of his concern and turning the kiss slow and syrupy. 

“You got into a fight down an alleyway,” Alec counters, and Magnus’s laugh is surprised and a little cracked; he feels so raw right now, like he’d very nearly lost something he hadn’t had the time to truly own.

“You joined the FBI,” Magnus says hotly, weirdly _mad_ about it, even though it happened well before Magnus even _knew_ Alec. When Alec laughs it’s semi-hysterical, and Magnus shoves his tongue into Alec’s mouth just to stop him from _arguing._ When he pulls back it’s only to say, _“a mensa et thoro,”_ and Alec sucks in a breath that’s several degrees short of laughter.

“Really?” he asks breathlessly, somehow pulling at the waistband of Magnus’s pants with such force that they - along with his underwear - end up halfway round his thighs without him moving from the desk. “Divorce proceedings already?”

“The fact that you know any kind of Latin at all shouldn’t be this hot,” Magnus comments, his blood practically on fire as the evidence to the contrary stands quite obviously between his legs. “But also, keep fucking talking.”

“Does my _animus menundi_ do it for you?” Alec asks with a bark of laughter, swallowing up Magnus’s resultant groan with his mouth as he divests them both of their remaining clothes.

“ _You_ do it for me,” Magnus corrects, spreading his legs a little wider and pulling Alec’s willing body down on top of him. “Lube in the top drawer. Now.”

“Why do you have-”

“Don’t ask _stupid questions,”_ Magnus hisses, and Alec very quickly gets with the programme after that.

One finger becomes two, which - unsurprisingly - leads to three, and Magnus is very quickly turned to something mercurial and gasping under the onslaught of it. If he’s ever wanted something this much before, he doesn’t remember it now; everything in his mind is focused on the next thrust of Alec’s fingers and on the spine-tingling pleasure that comes from the crook and twist of them.

“Get inside me _now,”_ Magnus gasps, fingernails digging into the contradictions of soft skin and unyielding muscle at Alec’s back. “Or five minutes ago. Those are your options, pretty boy.”

Alec chooses ‘now’. It’s a wise move.

Magnus throws his head back involuntarily at the first press of Alec’s cock inside him - not so much at the feeling of it, but at having been given something that seems to have been kept just out of his reach for so long.

“Oh my God,” Alec says eloquently, and Magnus finds himself unable to argue with the sentiment. Having Alec inside him is a revelation, for all that it’s something he’s technically experienced before. The feeling is the same, and yet wholly different; perhaps because _they_ were different the last time they had the freedom to do this.

Also perhaps because they’ve never fucked on Magnus’s desk before.

“Move or I’ll-” Magnus runs out of breath as Alec does as he’s asked and _moves_ , hips rolling sinuously in a way that has 99% of Magnus’s brain functions immediately going offline. Nothing else matters but this, he vaguely realises; the movement of Alec inside him and around him is _everything_ and they are _alive_ , so what else could possibly mean anything of significance?

“I love you,” Alec murmurs against his throat. Then again, mouth pressing hotly against Magnus’s jaw: “I love you.” Again and again, he repeats the statement like a fucking _mantra,_ all the while taking Magnus apart like he’s pored over the blueprints of him and understands the very foundations of what he needs. Magnus is helpless against the pull of it, muttering stupid, honest promises against Alec’s mouth and pushing back against the relentless roll of his hips like he has any power here. Like he’s anything but Alec’s now, anything but a series of gasping, grasping wants and desires somehow taking shape in bruising fingertips and sweat-slicked skin.

When he comes it’s more inevitable than an incoming tide, more catastrophic than an earthquake. Magnus is taken apart by the force of it, mouth open yet voice silent with the extent of his pleasure, spine arched like he’s searching for contact he’s too sensitive to take. Alec fills him up entirely, teeth braced against Magnus’s throat, shuddering against him like the cosmic shifting of tectonic plates, and Magnus feels something settle in him that had before been impossible to pin down. He feels safe, and loved, and so well-fucked he thinks he could probably die happy.

Alec presses a sloppy, open mouthed kiss against his Adam’s apple, and Magnus revises his statement; he could probably die happy, but he’d really rather live under Alec.

“Is that an option?” Magnus asks, stupid and happy, clinging to Alec because he can’t help it. There’s no logical reason other than _it feels good_. 

“What?” Alec asks, eyes a little hazy, beautiful mouth parted on an exhale.

“Never mind.” Magnus pulls him back down into an open mouthed kiss, and attempts with some success to forget he was ever a single entity.

❧❧❧

_De futuro_

_Et seq._

_Ex aequo et bono_

_Fiat_

❧❧❧

Concerning the future

And the following things

Of equity and the good

Let it be done

❧❧❧

  1. ~~No sex in the workplace~~



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this! Some clarification on Latin legal terms:
> 
>  _a mensa et thoro_ \- 'from table and bed' (Divorce a mensa et thoro indicates legal separation without legal divorce)  
>  _animus menundi_ \- 'intention to remain'
> 
> Now onto the nonsense! Highlights from my loose plot for this fic are as follows:  
> Chapter 1 - Jocelyn called Jace like where the fuck is my daughter and he was like where the fuck IS your daughter, also how did you get this number  
> Chapter 2 - STYLE IT OUT, MAGS.  
> Chapter 3 - Literally the only plan for this chapter was "Will there be sexting while Alec is at work and Magnus has a day off? Yes, absolutely. Will that be the whole chapter? Most of it, yes. Alec has to find a closet or something equally humiliating, it’s going to be awesome."  
> Chapter 4 - They’re probably both dicks, just a little bit.  
> Chapter 5 - ...then they do it on Magnus’s desk. 
> 
> Thanks so much for joining me on this journey. It's been a blast. If there are any errors, it's because I wrote at least half of this under the influence of a red wine that is _growing on me_ , and also I have no proofreaders. I'm just too ashamed of myself.
> 
> ALSO, just to confirm - I literally couldn't have done this without tintagel. The concept for Chapter 2 was really difficult to get round for some reason, and she helped IMMENSELY. Thanks, babe.


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